"long-term, conventional wars are now moot"

Except for the ones that aren't. The invasion of Iraq was certainly well executed; I think future campaigns against China, North Korea or Iran will certainly involve a conventional component - I can see a need to maintain readiness for same - the reality is that you never know which war you will be fighting next. Assuming that the next war will be another Iraq would be as dangerous as presuming in 1979 that the next war to be fought would be another Vietnam. Threats have a nasty way of popping up where you least expect them...

"long term" conventional wars I will agree seem to be a way of the past, but we can see shades of same in the former Yugoslavia or other modern more recent conflicts. I hope we won't see them again, but one really doesn't know.